Instagram story viewer> @davidsunkong> Tagged

David Sun Kong, Ph.D.

@davidsunkong

7.9K

followers

4443

following

Director @communitybiotech @mitmedialab @howtogrowalmostanything @mitcloudlab @ancientfuturetech @biosummit @metafluidics
🗣️ @thelavinagency

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Great day bringing Imagination in Action to MIT for Future Fest.

Thinking about the Next 250 Years with an incredible group of builders, researchers, and creators.

#ImaginationInAction #MIT #FutureFest #AI #Innovation #FutureOfTechnology

35

0

I'm really excited to be taking part in @howtogrowalmostanything course from @mit. It has been an extraordinary journey into the fascinating and intense world of synthetic biology, and i'm enjoying every bit of it!

Learning how to design DNA and genetic circuits to develop biological products feels like a dream coming true. It's challenging, but that's also what makes it so exciting (And i couldn't be happier about it!) 🧬💻

7

0

YOU’RE INVITED ✉️

PARTY2099 is coming to @MITFutureFest.

Reserve your place with a MIT Future Fest ticket or RSVP via the link in bio.

Space is limited, and admission will be subject to capacity.

See you on the dance floor. 🪩

#PARTY2099

3

17

And I survived Burning Man again.

Just kidding- First pic is from my first Burn in 2022 when I barely survived. literally.

And in honor of September being Suicide Awareness Month I felt keen to express my connection with the Burn and the camp I roll with..

bc in 2022 I was going to take my own life but I decided to stick around and check out Burning Man..and I got absolutely punished.

It was the hot 100 F+ windy year and I wasn’t prepared for shit but through chance meeting in the dust I met a small crew with no name that came to be called “Long Feng.”

Back then we were a band of less than 10. Now in 2026, Long Feng has grown into a camp that reaches several hundreds. Seeing all the videos people share has me mind blown. I’m grateful to witness that growth- and still be a part of it.

and this year wasn’t a walk in the park either.

My Burn started out rough enough I was going to leave midway but Camp Lead convinced me to stay..

It’s this year I really questioned the “Burning Man Ritual”. Because after 3 Burns you ask whats the point?

it all starts to become the same- sick art, crazy parties- and you’re still cleaning dust off all your shit weeks after the Burn..

But you find beauty in the nuances- like seeing the Burn through the eyes of a fresh Burner or tasting the difference in food Burners make because its made not for profit but for sheer Love of the Ritual, or it’s simply just contributing to the same crew you started with.

You can tell I don’t just come to the Burn for pleasure and as I try to make sense of the experience what I’ve come to understand is- the Burn wont always be what you expect but it will always be what you have to accept.

for me, that comes to a show production that couldn’t fully materialize or having to wear the same warm layers over & over bc you packed for heat (and no rain lol), Or the Burn simply gives you an excuse to decompress at your fav spot in Tahoe.

But most of all I find when you explored the deepest & dark parts of your mind you learn to honor the connections with the people you’ve made and find meaning in them, because when you choose to keep sticking around, you get to see the fruits of your decision 🕊️

868

59

My 1st Burning Man. If you’re curious to go, maybe sift pass the algorithmic noise and ask your favorite people (who’ve been) about their experience. You’ll likely discover a radical rabbit hole of art, inspiration, and an invitation to reimagine reality. Also, a f*ck ton of childlike wonder. Definitely not for the faint of heart though.

One keynote for this entire trip: my brotha @davidsunkong really opened the door and designed my journey to burn with incredible foresight. Just super thoughtful and a master curator of good vibes. I’m inspired to pass it on.
A sequel awaits. 🔥)’(🔥

1k

32

surrendering to the burrrrrrrn.
I became a burning man at burning man

shoutout to my bro @davidsunkong for convincing me to try this & thank you to @cynti.love for providing the 🔥

1k

62

WHAT IF WE COULD GROW WHAT WE BUILD?

Please join me in applying for the inaugural Fall 2026 offering of How to Biomanufacture (Almost) Anything—HTBAA—at the MIT Media Lab.

The course explores biological manufacturing across microbial, mammalian and cell-free systems, microfluidics, liquid-handling robotics and cloud laboratories.

For Auto Troph, this represents an important threshold: moving from biology as inspiration toward testing what can actually be made. Could cells, light, water, carbon and automation help us cultivate new materials, membranes and architectural forms?

Applications close September 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Scan the QR code on the plate to apply. Please join me in exploring what we might grow together.

HTBAA-000 | 04 SEPTEMBER 2026

#HTBAA #Biomanufacturing #AutoTroph #LivingArchitecture #syntheticbiology

4

1

184

2

This Fall, we are launching a new @mitmedialab course for the first time: “How to Biomanufacture (Almost) Anything (HTBAA)!”

Instructors:
@davidsunkong, @mitmedialab
@george.church, @harvardmed
Joseph Jacobson, @mitmedialab

In HTBAA, students will explore the frontiers of biomanufacturing, from microbial, mammalian, and cell-free systems, to automation technologies spanning microfluidics, desktop liquid handling robots, and cloud labs.

And, for the first time, HTBAA students will have access to the new @mitcloudlab for Learning!

Thanks to funding from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and @massgovernor Maura Healey, we are establishing the @mitcloudlab for Learning!

Registered HTBAA students from MIT, Harvard, and Wellesley will have the opportunity to conduct hands-on work with the Cloud Lab, while global HTBAA students will be able to conduct experiments remotely via one of our HTGAA nodes.

Join us to explore the cutting-edge of robotics, AI, and biology!!

🔗 Applications are now open, apply via link in the bio!

📆 Deadline: September 11 at 11:59p PT

Apply today, and please share with students, educators, and communities who might be interested!

Poster design: @ronancdonovan

1k

31

It was an honor to host Massachusetts Senator @edmarkey at the @mitmedialab earlier this summer!

It was a privilege to share with him our national and global education mission with @howtogrowalmostanything, and also our new MIT Cloud Lab for Learning, where we are advancing robotics, AI, and life sciences education for students throughout the Commonwealth.

I look forward to working with the Senator on advancing this important mission in the months and years ahead!

And, it was fun to (accidentally) help moonlight as his speech writer 🤪😆

Thanks for the video 🎥 @laurenramlan!
Cover photo: @jimbodays

455

23

Another year of How to Grow Almost Anything, in the books! 🌱 🧬  
We just wrapped another round of HTGAA @howtogrowalmostanything with MIT Media Lab @mitmedialab @communitybiotech @davidsunkong and we did it mid-lab-move, which is a special kind of chaos we don’t recommend but definitely survived. 
We’ve had over 30+ graduates and their projects, with weeks of mycelium sculpting, microfluidics, cell-free systems, Gibson assemblies, CRISPR labs, cloud labs, Opentrons runs, and enough transformations and dodgy gel electrophoresis runs to lose count of. 
Want in? Join us for our next cohort in 2027, and keep your eyes peeled, because a new MIT course is brewing at Lifefabs soon 👀
  Once again a huge thanks to our incredible Lifefabs MIT HTGAA TA team, and the core MIT Team, none of this would happen without you: @digby.usher @inger.legue @w112233442 @ronancdonovan @shaniceotersen @matt.berkshire52 @vnnvshen @juandiegounda @lexalltheway @bea_meskita @georg.tremmel @parg_art

358

2

［英國倫敦市榮譽市民（Freedom of the City of London）授勳］
On 12 June 2026, at Mansion House, I had the privilege of receiving the Freedom of the City of London from Deputy Keith Bottomley CC, Sheriff of the City of London, in the presence of Dame Susan Langley DBE, Lady Mayor of the City of London.

Dating back to 1237, the Freedom of the City of London is one of the world’s oldest civic honours and a tradition that has endured for nearly eight centuries.

I am deeply grateful to Goodenough College and Dean Alan McCormack for nominating me for this honour. My sincere thanks also go to my friends who joined me at the ceremony and shared this memorable occasion with me.

This recognition is both a privilege and a responsibility. I hope to continue learning, contributing to society, and proving worthy of the trust and support that others have placed in me.

2026年6月12日，我有幸於倫敦市長官邸（Mansion House）接受「倫敦市榮譽市民」（Freedom of the City of London）授勳，由倫敦市郡長（Sheriff of the City of London）Keith Bottomley CC 頒授，並由倫敦市女市長（Lady Mayor of the City of London）Dame Susan Langley DBE 見證儀式。

倫敦市榮譽市民頭銜可追溯至西元1237年，是世界上歷史最悠久的公民榮譽之一，至今已有近八百年的歷史。

衷心感謝 Goodenough College 與 Dean Alan McCormack 給予我這份榮譽，也感謝所有到場見證並陪伴我慶祝的朋友們。

這份榮譽不僅是一份肯定，更是一份責任。未來我將持續保持學習的熱忱，努力回饋社會，並期許自己永遠不辜負這份榮譽所代表的意義。

📍Mansion House, City of London, United Kingdom 🇬🇧

#FreedomOfTheCityOfLondon #CityOfLondon #MansionHouse #GoodenoughCollege #London

511

38